#My own two cents

[doyouknowyoudothatoutloud]

I just saw a post about dogwhisteling and a term about noticing patterns being used by nazis. I can sort of see it.

I don't know if it's that big a deal though.

I think policing language is worse than having some people use it harmfully.

I think try to be a good person with the bigger stuff and probably let dogwhistelling go.

I do not mean to say it does not create harm. But rather than policing the use of the words what if we use those words to educate how facts really work. That when looking at statistics there are hardly ever any patterns.

People of different religious groups can, and often do, have more in common in their daily life than people of the same one. If you make about the same amount of money your lives tend to look very similar.

I think it is a more effective use of your time to build up good things in the world than to spend it tearing down the bad ones. Sometimes you have to tear down some bad, but without having built up good to replace it with it is not nearly as effective.

So is it bad that words and phrases are being used as dogwhistelling? Yes.

But is the best way to build a good world to fight them? Probably not.

I think you can ask yourself who you are laughing at when you make a joke. That in itself is a good foundation.

Rarely you might reblog a joke you think is harmless but it is pointed out to you it has been used as a dogwhistelling phrase. Explain what you thought was funny about it and how you saw it differently.

The post was talking about how bad it is to have dogwhistelling be hidden in the middle of a bunch of other phrases and just become ordinary and sometimes that is true. But if people don't stop using the term it can also become meaningless as a dogwhistelling tactic. If the phrase is mostly used for a different purpose it no longer does the thing it was made to do or at least it does it less effectively.

I am not saying this is what you should do. I am however saying that it is not all gloom and doom. I think diversity in how it is used is far from a bad thing. When it comes to dogwhistelling phrases.

Noticing patterns is how our brain works. But the world is far too complex for something as simple as patterns accurately explaining how it works. Our brains think the world works in patterns, but our brains are wrong.

We go in with certain assumptions into topics. How you learn is to try to dissprove the assumptions you go into it with. If you believe the world is just a repeated pattern, you are wrong.

That is how litterature works because it is our imagination put on paper. But reality is made by different people's imagination, by animals, by stuff from the universe etc. Reality is far too complex to be accurately described by one thing being in control of everything or even most things. Actually think of it. What a boring and predictable world that would actually look like. There are so many things around you in your every day life that disproves that.

Take note of them, think what do I belive about them and look into it by trying to dissprove what you belive about them. Use creadible sources. Know who these sources are payed by. What are they likely to promote or avoid talking about because of who they are payed by?

The world is complex and therefor the methods and answers are probably that too. At least more complex than our brains assume they are.

[symphonyofsilence]

Let the poor man rest.

[bekolxeram]

I'm late to the party I know, but I need to learn how to make gifs first. I actually find the Bucktommy dinner scene a bit awkward, but not because they "lack chemistry" or the "flirting is problematic". It's not supposed to be just a cute bonus scene, it's engineered to stuff as much information as possible into mere 55 seconds. Here is my read on it:

The good old always at the hospital joke, probably just Tommy trying to lighten the mood after such a hectic day for the 118, but mainly a set up for the next part.

Buck does not see the humor in it, he seems upset.

Tommy has apparently gotten to know Buck enough at the stage to immediately clock it, and under all the dark humor and sarcasm, he does actually care about Buck's feelings.

The scene of Buck and Eddie in the hospital room with Bobby ends up on the cutting room floor, we've only got that one shot of teary eyed Buck when he breaks the news to Eddie at his house, so this is the first time in the episode Buck gets to express his fear of losing Bobby, his father figure.

And here we are, controversial moment number 1. There isn't much context attached to this line, so viewers interpret it differently. I'm in the minority camp that thinks Tommy is being serious here, Lou's delivery makes it seem like Tommy says this out of concern. I believe it's a call back to this line from the medal ceremony:

Here Buck is talking about Phillip the same way Tommy and Chimney (possibly Hen too) talk about Gerrard: like he's dead. Tommy is probably wondering if Phillip is another Gerrard situation, and he invites Buck to talk about it if he wishes to.

Buck gives a humorous but one word answer, so Tommy gets that he doesn't want to get too deep into it.

From this line on, it's a set up for the Gerrard reign of terror in S8. Tommy reiterates the jealousy he mentioned in 7x04, that he wants to become a part of the 118 family, which he only had a little taste of before he left to become a pilot.

Tommy backstory crumb. Buck and Phillip at least see each other at family functions, Tommy doesn't have a relationship with his dad at all. Judging by the medal ceremony, he doesn't seem to have any family left.

It confirms Gerrard as the anti-Christ anti-Bobby. Buck becomes the person he is because of Bobby, while Tommy behaved the way he did in the 3 begin episodes because of Gerrard. It acknowledges Tommy's toxic ways back in the days, but as we can see by the time Bobby became captain of the 118, Tommy was already on friendly terms with Chimney and Hen, we might have a chance to see the transformation in between next season. I've heard that season 7 is supposed to be a soft relaunch of the entire series, so maybe Gerrard is a good plot device to make new viewers understand the positive influence Bobby has on the firefam.

Classic deadpan humor from Tommy, Buck gets the message that he wants to keep the conversation lighthearted.

Now Buck has the power to decide which direction he's leading the conversation into, and he gives us controversial moment number 2, he brings up daddy issues and makes it horny. Look at his smirky face, he's definitely not trying to have a serious chat about father complex. He's the one who starts flirting, not Tommy, and it shows us unlike the nervous fumbling at the beginning of their relationship, Buck is now comfortable enough to initiate flirting.

Tommy can't say no to that face, so he flirts back, but it can also be interpreted as him being in denial of his obvious daddy issues. More conflict and angst for S8?

More flirting. Boy's got rizz towards all genders. He basically admits he might have "daddy issues" in a sexual connotation.

Now comes THE controversial moment of the scene, if not the episode. I've seen people online bashing Tommy for "making it sexual" (Buck did), "interrupting a meaningful conversation to satisfy his daddy kink" (no one is actually talking about any kink), or even "exploiting Buck's trauma to put him in an inferior role in a dom/sub relationship" (What? That's not what d/s is about).

I raise you the point that the word "daddy" is no longer some kind of kink exclusive lingo. This word has entered the popular zeitgeist the last couple years, and now it basically just means a sexy older man. I bet the daddy kink thing doesn't even cross the mind of most of the GA, they just take it as Tommy hoping Buck find this older man sexy. I think we might have collectively read too many smutty fanfics, that's why we all immediately jumped to the very extreme of the kinkiness spectrum when it comes to this scene.

Conclusion, the dialog in this scene may not sound natural, but that's not the point. This scene is in fact, an infodump. Kudos to the actors for making it cute.

[whamss]

Rose would be a shitty girlfriend but people really miss the flavor with exploring that when they take it as Rose not liking Kanaya as much as vice versa as opposed to her being painfully into Kanaya but not knowing how to like. Empathize with other people properly and being too self-absorbed to attend to any of Kanaya's needs, or even really notice when her own behavior is hurting her.

I think it's pretty well-established that Rose is super into her. Girl who drank her ass off before their first date bc she was nervous and constantly turmoiled over whether or not Kanaya was going to break up w her and wanting to make things better between them even leading up to her death, only people to say that she doesn't like Kanaya. If Kanaya broke up with Rose she would perish. Lines like "I never even got to tell her I love her" tell us nothing if not that Rose was painfully in love with Kanaya, but could never find it in herself to tell her. Whether this is because she was trying to protect herself on the chance that Kanaya got sick of her shit and decided to break up or because Rose was so out of it constantly she just could never get it out is up to interpretation. But Rose being a shitty girlfriend and her relationship with Kanaya being extremely important to her aren't concepts that are mutually exclusive. If anything I think they play hand in hand.

I also just think people need to give Kanaya more autonomy than they do. Don't get me wrong the power dynamic IS inbalanced. Rose is insane and constantly making mistakes and impulsive decisions and Kanaya is always left picking up the pieces when she does something crazy. Rose hurts Kanaya to an incomparable degree. Kanaya has far more patience for Rose than she probably should, but she isn't a doormat. The entire interaction Kanaya and Rose had on the meteor, where Kanaya flipped out on Rose for drinking right before they were due for a big fight, tells us so much about what their dynamic was leading up to this imo. This is a conversation they've had countless times before, Kanaya's anger is always followed up with some fearful suggestion from Rose that Kanaya is going to break up with her. Kanaya is a girl dealing with a partner deep in the throes of alcoholism, she's painfully compliant, but their interactions both leading up to them getting together and once they do both on the meteor and off of it show that the relationship anxiety is very one-sided. Rose is the only one worried about them breaking up, because she sucks and she knows that. Kanaya cares deeply for Rose but if either of them are going to be cooly cutting things off between them it's her, not Rose.

I love giving rosemary divorce particles, I can never be convinced that two girls who got together That Young could make it work between them without a ton of bumps in the road. I love that Rose is fucked up and self-centered and I like when people acknowledge this, but she DOES love Kanaya. To her own detriment. Kanaya is the one constantly disillusioned by Rose's behavior, the one who's commitment is constantly tested, not the other way around. Wish more people could acknowledge this... Rose loves Kanaya! And Kanaya loves Rose too, I think. But people really wooby her when they try to frame even the likes of pre-retcon rosemary like Kanaya is a nothing but a victim of Rose's vices, and that Rose somehow doesn't actually want to be in a relationship with her.

Pre-retcon rosemary was definitely on track to an untimely break up though. Rose wasn't going to be the one to pull that trigger though

[alevens]

zolu is maybe one of the easiest ships i've ever liked. they're dating, except when they're not, they're best friends even when they're kissing and they're still captain and first mate when they aren't. they hold hands, they hug. they have sex. they don't.

Luffy can hold Zoro's katanas and Zoro can hold Luffy's strawhat and no one bats an eye. one says "You're so cool!" and the other says "You're strong" and it's just another way to say "I see you, this is why I follow you/this is why I trust you". it's not seeing each other for a long time and still knowing how the other's steps sound like against wood and sand. the captain runs and the first mate follows. it's always "Zoro and the others" and "Where's Luffy?"

if they're just friends, if they're something more, if they don't have a label for it, at its core, it's just about how they get each other. they understand how the other's mind works. however you view them, it doesn't erase they fact that they love each other in a way they don't love other people.

[galacticlamps]

ok I have A Lot of thoughts about the staircase confession (well really about Edwin's whole character arc, but all roads lead to rome) but for now I just wanna say that, yes, I was bracing myself for something to go terribly wrong when I first watched it, and yes, part of me was initially worried its placement might be an uncharacteristically foolish choice made in the name of Drama or Pacing or Making a Compelling Episode of Television but at the expense of narrative sense--

But I wanna say that having taken all that into account, and watched it play out, and sat with it - and honestly become rather transfixed by it - I really think it's a beautifully crafted moment and truly the only way that arc could've arrived at such a satisfying conclusion.

And if I had to pinpoint why I not only buy it but also have come to really treasure it, I'd have to put it down to the fact that it genuinely is a confession, and nothing else.

That moment is an announcement of what Edwin has come to understand about himself, but because it takes the form of a character admitting romantic feelings for such a close friend, I think it can be very easy, when writing that kind of thing, to imbue it with other elements like a plea or a request or even the start of a new relationship that, intentionally or not, would change the shape of the moment and can quickly overshadow what a huge deal the telling is all on its own. But that's not the case here. Since it is only a confession, unaccompanied by anything else, and since we see afterward how it was enough, evidently, to fix the strangeness that had grown between him & Charles, we're forced to understand that it was never Edwin's feelings that were actually making things difficult for him - it was not being able to tell Charles about them. 'Terrified' as he's been of this, Edwin learns that his feelings don't need to either disappear completely or be totally reciprocated in order for him to be able to return to the peace, stability, and security of the relationship with which he defines his existence - and the scale of that relief a) tells us a hell of a lot about Edwin as a character and b) totally justifies the way his declaration just bursts out of him at what would otherwise be such a poorly chosen moment, in my opinion.

Whether or not they are or ever could be reciprocated, Edwin's feelings are definitively proven not to be the problem here - only his potential choice to bottle it up - his repression - is. And where that repression had once been mainly involuntary, a product of what he'd been through, now that he's got this new awareness of himself, if he still fails to admit what he's found either to himself or to the one person he's so unambiguously close with, then that repression will be by his own choice and actions.

And he won't do that. Among other things, he's coming into this scene having just (unknowingly) absolved the soul of his own school bully and accidental killer by pointing out a fact that is every bit as central to his self-discovery as anything about his sexuality or his attraction to Charles is: the idea that "If you punish yourself, everywhere becomes Hell"

So narratively speaking, of course it makes sense that Edwin literally cannot get out of Hell until he stops punishing himself - and right now, the thing that's torturing him is something he has control over. It's not who he is or what he feels, but what he chooses to do with those feelings that's hurting him, and he's even already made the conscious choice to tell Charles about them, he was just interrupted. But now that they're back together and he's literally in the middle of an attempt to escape Hell, there is absolutely no way he can so much as stop for breath without telling Charles the truth. Even the stopping for breath is so loaded - because they're ghosts, they don't need to breathe, but also they're in Hell, so the one thing they can feel is pain, however nonsensical. And Edwin certainly is in pain. But whether he knows what he's about to do or not when he says he 'just needs a tick,' a breather is absolutely not what's gonna give him enough relief to keep climbing - it's fixing that other hurt, though, that will.

Like everything else in that scene, there's a lot of layers to him promising Charles "You don't have to feel the same way, I just needed you to know" - but I don't think that means it isn't also true on a surface level. It's the act of telling Charles that matters so much more than whatever follows it, and while that might have gone unnoticed if anything else major had happened in the same conversation, now we're forced to acknowledge its staggering and singular importance for what it is. The moment is well-earned and properly built up to, but until we see it happen in all its wonderful simplicity, and we see the aftermath (or lack thereof, even), we couldn't properly anticipate how much of a weight off Edwin's shoulders merely getting to share the truth with Charles was going to be, why he couldn't wait for a better, safer opportunity before giving in to that desire, or how badly he needed to say it and nothing else - and I really, really love the weight that act of just being honest, seen, and known is given in their story/relationship.

[tokutaiseichan]

How old is everyone, really?!?!

Prefacing this with the information that the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old bc it's important.

OKAY so at first we were only shown that it's the third years who go to Rui's bar. This made me think, "Oh, I guess that'd make the third years a bunch of 20 years old, at the very least. So Darkwick is like a university?"

But then come Episode 6 and we were told that they don't actually serve real alcohol at Rui's bar. Not to mention we saw Ritsu getting fussy about a bar in the school grounds. This made me think, "So Darkwick is a high school? Everyone here is a minor?? Which is it???" (※To be fair, Ritsu was only fussing about the existence of a bar and not the possibility of underage drinking cmiiw)

And last, Episode 8. Here we saw Taiga ordering a martini一an alcoholic drink. And when Ritsu came to fetch him, he didn't scold him about underage drinking so that means Taiga is at least 20 years old (Ritsu warned Jin about Swords and Arms law when he took out his artifact so if Taiga really is underaged, Ritsu would definitely scold him).

But what caught me truly off guard is when Ritsu snatched the cocktail and drank it himself. Ritsu "Stickler for the Rules" Shinjo is drinking alcohol. There's a few possible explanation for this a) Ritsu is of drinking age; b) Ritsu is making an exception and broke a rule bc he's exasperated with Taiga (less likely considering how much of a stick in the mud about rules he is); c) Writer Team's mistake.

I'm leaning more to a), which means all of the first years is also at least 20 years old. That makes the second and third years in their early twenties. So Darwick is still a kind of university? Or does age isn't one of the parameter to enroll there?

[tea-time221]

why is there even discourse ya'll 😭

fabian and riz, romantic/qpr, does not erase riz's asexual identity, nor does it erase his aromantic identity.

the aromantic identity can be displayed in a numerous amount of ways, and none of those ways undermines the other.

you can interpret fanart and other fabriz content in soo many different ways, providing you with the representation you want, but one thing has to stay true and it's that no one should shit on other people's interpretations of the way they portray riz's queer identity.

if people want to look at fabriz content as platonic/qpr, that's all fine and good

if people want to interpret it as romantic, it's also fine and good!

the only thing is that no one should label fabriz as "only romantic" or "only platonic" and then believe that to be so and then enforce it on others.

riz is like,, one of the only good reps we have of the aro/ace identity, surely the entire community can share him 😭 we can all project on him together

and create the stuff u want to see of him!!! if ur complaint is that all the riz stuff is just "fabriz" (which it definitely, 100% isnt), then create stuff of him! you have that power!!! create art, create headcanons, create theories and fanfics!!!! the more content there is, the more variety there will be, and that means there will be more facets of the aroace identity being represented.

[loserboyfriendrjl]

sirius is the only marauder who regularly smokes by the way. remus only smokes when stressed (before exams and during the war) and after sex

[bruhstation]

who here loves divorce? I do. here's captain star and captain zero: two people who can't help but drag other unwilling people into their huge mess! including the youth. can't forget the youth

(bit of ramble in the tags)

[sinnerista]

Nobody asked but here it is anyway

[artzybumpkin]

*after rewatching the Sp@mtopia episode*

.... What if instead of a one night stand gone awry, it was close contact with The M@gical R3d J3wel™ that got Al/lan pregnant? He was holding Ja/son at the time so it had to have contacted him too, right?

What if the "life giving(?)" magic GAVE new life back to Ja/son, but also PUT new life into Al/lan as a sort of byproduct?

.... It's HELLA silly and needs some tweaking but I think that might be my new personal HC lol

(Probably the last I'll bring up the "HOW" in all this too btw, as it's not all that important or game changing to the plot lol)

[rhys-ravenfeather]

Came back wrong...except did they really?

Okay yes, they look absolutely horrific, maybe even grotesque--they're a ghoul that can now only shamble instead of walk, or a ghastly phantasm. But they're not roaming around eating brains, or letting out shrieking wails as they curse the living, or hurting innocent people at all.

Their voice is still the same as when they were alive, or close, they still talk like the person you knew and loved. They act exactly the same. They have the same smile, the same laugh, and they still look at you the same way. Their gaze, while ghoulish, still holds the same softness, because they still know and love you--and everyone else who they were close to, just as much as when they were a living, breathing human. While their appearance may have changed, that has not.

They are, for all intents and purposes, the exact same person as when they were alive, just a bit more spooky now.

They've changed so much since being brought back--yet they haven't changed at all.

[lunarmoves]

Sobbing, screaming and throwing up cause half of the fic's you recommended haven't updated for a very long time or are discontinued 😭 I'm so scared to start any of them cause I can't handle a cliff hanger 😞

- (^⁠_⁠^) anon

aww that is understandable. you can filter by complete works in ao3, you just have to go down to 'completion status' in filters. however... i implore you to think about it this way:

there are entire stories you are missing out on when you avoid reading something that isn't complete! those incomplete and discontinued fics deserve just as much of a chance as the complete ones. they are just as important and they are always worth it in the end. even if the author may not finish it, i think having read something is better than having not read it at all, you know? because there could be one of the best plot points or scenes or interactions in that fic that you'll never get to read elsewhere.

being scared of cliffhangers is valid! i've found that they tend to dull with time, which makes them more manageable. in the end, a fic you read with a cliffhanger will get pushed to the back of your mind with the everydays of life. and it's always nice to speculate with the author via comments/asks! that kind of fandom interaction is integral to keeping art alive. and even if there is a cliffhanger in a fic, i think everything that comes before it is always worth the read.

and also--just because a fic has not been updated in a long time, does not mean it's discontinued or never will have another update again! it doesn't matter if it's been months or years. i've seen authors update after ages, myself included! you just never know. a comment also goes a long way. sometimes authors just need a push of inspo or motivation! i've read so many stories about readers leaving comments on fics that haven't been updated, the author seeing said comments, and then updating bc it gave them a push of motivation!

so don't be scared to read those incomplete/discontinued fics. they matter just as much!

[saltynsassy31]

No one talk about how pretty Ruffnut actually is.

I know she doesn't fit the "beauty standard" like Astrid or Heather, but she is gorgeous. Really.

Tho I will say, watching Rider or Berk for the second time this past 2 months and having rewatched the second movie recently, I do miss how sharp her smile (and also Tuffnut's, but this isn't about him XD) was back then. Its definitely lessened with time. Her features aren't as sharp as before, and it almost made her cat like? Idk, I thought it was cute and wish they stuck with it XD.

But she still is so pretty and I love her so, so much!

I mean,

LOOK AT HER!!!

SHE'S GORGEOUS!!!!

The third image is my particular favourite, she looks ADORABLE!!!

[starheirxero]

No but genuinely, how does Sun even get drunk... Like, is there some magic he's had this entire time that allows him to process alcohol in the same way as humans? Are nanomachines somehow susceptible to it??? Like I am truly wholly tryna figure something out for this because if robots really don't get effected by alcohol, then Sun's drinking really isn't a problem for the alcoholism reasons.

It might be a problem for like, maintenance reasons though. I don't think wine is particularly dangerous to robotic parts in any way—just as dangerous as water or soda or many other liquids—but if some of it isn't fully "processed" then it's probably gunking some stuff up internally. Maybe not to a fatal degree, but still to an annoying degree.

Idk just kinda thinkin' out loud. I think drinking headcanons are entertaining but they're really something that makes you go "yeah there's no way this could happen, I'm just bullshitting for fun" lmao 😭